MBA graduates are some of the world’s most sought after candidates, with data from the QS Global Employer Surveys showing that MBA hiring by renowned multinationals such as Amazon and Apple is on the up.

With demand for MBA graduates so strong, it’s no wonder that many MBA graduates are setting their sights on senior roles the moment they complete their courses.

And according to a global study of almost 6,000 MBA graduates by research group Catalyst this aspiration is more prevalent in male MBA graduates when compared to their female counterparts.

Of the male MBA graduates who had taken up management jobs in “tech-intensive” industries shortly after graduation day, 97% were hoping to climb the ranks to a senior executive or chief executive role compared to 84% of women.

Lack of roles models may lie behind discrepancy

Commenting on the study results, Allyson Zimmermann, a senior director at Catalyst, said: “A lack of role models is certainly one contributory factor. Only 15% of the women and men in business roles in technology-intensive industries had a female supervisor compared with 21% in other industries. Women were more than twice as likely as men to report a lack of role models of the same gender as a significant barrier to advancement.”

The research comes in the wake of a the “25 by 25” campaign launched by Moya Greene, chief executive of Royal Mail – one of only five female chief executives in the FTSE 100 – which aims to have 25 female FTSE 100 CEOs in place by 2025.

She said: “One of the most important things to do is to help women take ownership of their ambition and aspirations. It’s still disappointing when you see how young women view their ambition – and how others view that ambition. To be a CEO it’s really hard work and you really have to want to do it. For women, even in 2014, that can be a problem.”